The first dinner was in 1945, the year after Al Smith's death. It is generally the last event at which the two U.S. presidential candidates share a stage before the election. Apart from presidential candidates, keynote speakers have included Clare Boothe Luce, Bob Hope, Henry Kissinger, Tom Brokaw, Tony Blair, and many other prominent figures in government, business, the media, and entertainment.

Alfred Smith (artist)

Alfred Smith (1854–1932) was a French artist from Bordeaux who painted in the impressionist style.
Some of his works resemble the early works of Claude Monet.

Biography

Smith was born in Bordeaux in 1854 to a family of English origin.
He joined a circle of local landscape artists who followed Courbet and Corot.
Smith studied with Hippolyte Pradelles (1876), Léonce Chabry (1880) and Amadeus Baudit (1884).
The distinguished artist Alfred Philippe Roll noticed Smith and helped to promote his work.
He exhibited in the Salon in Paris in 1880, earning an honorable mention.
In 1883 his painting Le quai de Bacalan le soir was exhibited at the Salon.
In the 1880s he became the new leader of the Bordeaux school, displacing Louis Auguin.
However, with no need to earn a living he did not fully devote himself to painting until 1886.

In 1888 he was given a third class medal at the Salon, and in 1889 a bronze medal.
In 1894 he was named a chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Smith won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.
He exhibited regularly at French salons into the 1920s, and many of his works are held in French and Italian museums.
Smith was distinguished for the atmospheric evocation of the woods, gardens and cityscapes, with a subtle and nuanced palette.
He painted scenes from Bordeaux, Paris and Venice before discovering the Creuse valley.
As Smith's style matured he adapted a brighter palette, displayed in his landscapes of the Creuse valley.
He has been called a member of the Crozant School, a broad collection of artists who painted nature around this village of the Creuse valley.
He died in Bordeaux in 1932.

Alfred Smith (VC)

Alfred SmithVC (1861–6 January 1932) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

On 17 January 1885 at the Battle of Abu Klea, Sudan, Gunner Smith saved a lieutenant who was being attacked by a native. The officer was superintending his gun at the time and had no weapon in his hand, but Gunner Smith, wielding the hand spike of his gun, warded off the thrust of the spear, giving the lieutenant time to draw his sword and bring the assailant to his knees. The latter, however, made a wild thrust at the officer with a long knife, which Gunner Smith again warded off, but not before the lieutenant was wounded. Gunner Smith then managed to kill the native before he could attack again.

The first dinner was in 1945, the year after Al Smith's death. It is generally the last event at which the two U.S. presidential candidates share a stage before the election. Apart from presidential candidates, keynote speakers have included Clare Boothe Luce, Bob Hope, Henry Kissinger, Tom Brokaw, Tony Blair, and many other prominent figures in government, business, the media, and entertainment.

The past week has seen the nation grapple with violence being blamed on a toxic political environment in the country. The media and his political foes blame PresidentDonald Trump. The president blames the media ... Gov ... She offers perspective, none more pertinent to today than her serious words at the Alfred E. SmithMemorialFoundationDinner in October....